PERSONAL AREA NETWORK HAVING MEDIA PLAYER AND MOBILE DEVICE CONTROLLING THE SAME

• US 20100297934A1
• Filed: 07/29/2010
• Published: 11/25/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Stripe, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qurio Holdings Incorporated
• Inventors: Issa, Alfredo C.
• Granted Patent: US 7,949,333 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/3.06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72442 for playing music files
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/20 Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/203 for converged personal network application service interworking, e.g. OMA converged personal network services [CPNS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]

Abstract

A system and method are provided for controlling content played by a number of media devices. In general, the system includes a mobile device and the number of media devices. The mobile device includes a wireless communication interface for communicating with the media devices, a media database, and a control system including a media client. When the mobile device enters a Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) associated with a media device, the media client obtains information describing the content residing at the media device and stores the information in the media database at the mobile device. Thereafter, when the mobile device is within the WPAN associated with the media device, the media database is used to select content to be played at the media device.

Claims

1. A media device comprising:

a wireless communication interface adapted to communicatively couple the media device to a mobile device when the mobile device is within a Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) of the media device; and

a control system associated with the wireless communication interface and adapted to;

receive, from the mobile device via the wireless communication interface, information that describes content residing at one or more other media devices and last-played time-stamps for the content residing at the one or more other media devices;

select desired content based on the information that describes the content residing at the one or more other media devices and the last-played time-stamps for the content residing at the one or more other media devices; and

play the desired content.

2. The media device of claim 1 wherein the information that describes the content residing at the one or more other media devices and the last-played time-stamps for the content residing at the one or more other media devices were previously obtained by the mobile device while the mobile device was within WPANs of the one or more other media devices.

3. The media device of claim 1 wherein the control system is further adapted to send, to the mobile device via the wireless communication interface, one or more updates reflecting changes to content stored at the media device.

4. The media device of claim 1 wherein the control system is adapted to select the desired content based on:

the information that describes the content residing at the one or more other media devices and the last-played time-stamps for the content residing at the one or more other media devices; and

information that describes content residing at the media device and last-played time-stamps for the content residing at the media device.

5. The media device of claim 4 wherein the desired content is new content residing at the media device that has not previously been played as indicated by the information that describes the content residing at the one or more other media devices and the last-played time-stamps for the content residing at the one or more other media devices.

6. The media device of claim 1 wherein, in order to select the desired content, the control system is further adapted to:

determine a play history based on the information that describes the content residing at the one or more other media devices and the last-played time-stamps for the content residing at the one or more other media devices; and

select the desired content based on the play history.

7. The media device of claim 6 wherein the desired content is content residing at the media device that is consistent with the play history.

8. The media device of claim 1 wherein, after playing the desired content, the control system is further adapted to send, via the wireless communication interface, a notification to the mobile device that the desired content has been played at the media device such that the mobile device is enabled to store corresponding last-played time-stamps for the desired content.

9. The media device of claim 1 wherein the one or more other media devices is a plurality of other media devices.

10. A method of operation of a media device comprising:

receiving, via a wireless communication interface of the media device, information that describes content residing at one or more other media devices and last-played time-stamps for the content residing at the one or more other media devices from a mobile device when the mobile device is within a Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) of the media device;

selecting desired content based on the information that describes the content residing at the one or more other media devices and the last-played time-stamps for the content residing at the one or more other media devices; and

playing the desired content.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the information that describes the content residing at the one or more other media devices and the last-played time-stamps for the content residing at the one or more other media devices were previously obtained by the mobile device while the mobile device was within WPANs of the one or more other media devices.

12. The method of claim 10 further comprising sending, to the mobile device via the wireless communication interface, one or more updates that reflect changes to content stored at the media device.

13. The method of claim 10 wherein selecting the desired content comprises selecting the desired content based on:

the information that describes the content residing at the one or more other media devices and the last-played time-stamps for the content residing at the one or more other media devices; and

information that describes content residing at the media device and last-played time-stamps for the content residing at the media device.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the desired content is new content residing at the media device that has not previously been played as indicated by the information that describes the content residing at the one or more other media devices and the last-played time-stamps for the content residing at the one or more other media devices.

15. The method of claim 10 wherein selecting the desired content comprises:

determining a play history based on the information that describes the content residing at the one or more other media devices and the last-played time-stamps for the content residing at the one or more other media devices; and

selecting the desired content based on the play history.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the desired content is content residing at the media device that is consistent with the play history.

17. The method of claim 10 wherein the method further comprises, after playing the desired content, sending, via the wireless communication interface, a notification to the mobile device that the desired content has been played at the media device such that the mobile device is enabled to store corresponding last-played time-stamps for the desired content.

18. The method of claim 10 wherein the one or more other media devices is a plurality of other media devices.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing software comprising instructions for instructing a media device to:

receive, via a wireless communication interface of the media device, information that describes content residing at one or more other media devices and last-played time-stamps for the content residing at the one or more other media devices from a mobile device when the mobile device is within a Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) of the media device;

select desired content based on the information that describes the content residing at the one or more other media devices and the last-played time-stamps for the content residing at the one or more other media devices; and

play the desired content.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19 wherein the information that describes the content residing at the one or more other media devices and the last-played time-stamps for the content residing at the one or more other media devices were previously obtained by the mobile device while the mobile device was within WPANs of the one or more other media devices.